Love At First Dinner
by Molly Renata
Summary: Post-Radiant Dawn, mostly just fluff, rated for Zihark being a perv and some suggestiveness. Zihark x Ilyana. R&R is nice.


Love At First Dinner: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Game: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

Timeline: Based two years after the game

Pairing: Zihark x Ilyana

Author's Note: We-ell... I present to you, my favorite Fire Emblem pairing, ever! Yep, that's right, the flirty swordmaster and the hungry sage. A little backstory on this pairing, I was originally looking for someone to pair Ilyana with in my PoR days... she was one of my favorite characters, but I didn't like most of her potential male options (Mordecai, Gatrie). Then I saw Zihark... and I was like, what the heck, why not? Zihark's cute too! (Yes, I base some of my pairings off of cuteness... I'm weird like that XD) And after I read their supports, I was in love... that was further strengthened by a 'talk' they have in Part 1 Chapter 5 of Radiant Dawn, when Zihark is still a NPC. And it's so adorable, and works out so well! Zihark is a flirtatious little bugger, isn't he? XD

Well, anyway, hope you enjoy! I can guarantee this will be a cute fic... maybe a little OOCness on Ilyana's part, though, so watch out. :P

Disclaimer: Fire Emblem belongs to Intelligent Systems and Nintendo. I own neither the game nor these two companies.

**ab****ba**

Zihark perked up. He could've sworn he heard a faint knocking on the door of his house.

It had only been a short time since he'd moved to Gallia. He rarely ever had company, and lived alone most of the time. Every so often, he would meet with a laguz friend he had, though.

He heard a _thud_, as if someone had collapsed on the ground. He stood quickly, wondering who it might be.

As he walked to the door, he realized who it might have been. Who else would collapse on the doorstep after knocking weakly?

"Oh, for goodness' sake..."

His right hand hit his forehead as he used his left hand to open the door. He looked down, seeing who he expected.

"Ilyana, what are you doing here?"

"Zi...hark..." The lavender-haired mage's voice was weak, as he expected. She was probably starving to death again.

"Alright, alright," Zihark said. "I'll feed you, and then we can talk."

He swept her into his arms, closing the door behind him. As she laid in his arms, barely able to keep from fainting, she huddled closer to him.

"Is there something wrong, Ilyana?" he inquired curiously.

Ilyana shook her head. "N-no... it's just... thank you... for feeding me... you're so sweet, Zihark..."

"It was no problem... I just wanted to help my favorite little beorc." Zihark smiled, setting her down in a seat and walking off to fetch some food.

"Favorite... beorc..." Ilyana repeated. "I'm your... favorite beorc?"

Zihark laughed. "Of course you are, Ilyana. You're my favorite, and always have been."

"Oh... thank you, Zihark..." Ilyana said softly, closing her eyes and smiling.

As usual, she ate like a pig. However, Zihark had already eaten his dinner, so he didn't really mind. All he wanted to do was help her.

Save her from potentially fainting again from hunger...

And within minutes, Ilyana had already finished eating. She felt a little better now, and smiled at him. "Thank you so much, Zihark..."

"Oh, it was no problem..." Zihark said, standing. He had been sitting next to her.

"Zihark, you said I was your favorite beorc..." Ilyana said, shakily standing and starting to walk off, beckoning him to follow. "What did you mean when you said that?"

Zihark simply laughed. "Oh, Ilyana. You can't expect that after all those meals I gave you, you'd be completely unloved. As I said at one point in our past, everyone likes you. You don't think I'd just swallow those words and think bad of you, would I?"

"Yes, but... you were far more kind to me... than anyone else..." Ilyana said. "Zihark... why? I don't deserve such sweet and kind treatment..."

"Ilyana... you know why," Zihark said. "Deep in your heart, you know why I treated you so kindly."

Ilyana blushed. "You... love me?"

"So you have grown up..." Zihark laughed, remembering the always starving, yet still beautiful girl he had once known. She hadn't changed at all since their first meeting... except for that spark of maturity he knew was brought on by aging.

"So, how old are you now, anyway?" he asked, leading her up to his room.

"I'm... almost twenty," she replied, smiling. "That would make you..."

"Twenty-four," Zihark said. "My birthday's in a few months."

"You're turning twenty-five?" Ilyana allowed her smile to broaden a little. "Wow... you're so much older than me..."

"And you're a woman now, aren't you?" Zihark said. "Funny... you still look the same as you did five years ago."

Ilyana laughed softly. "Yes... I know... I age slowly, don't I?"

As Zihark opened the door to his room, he said, "Maybe you're really a laguz, and just haven't unveiled your powers yet."

"Or... maybe I'm a Branded, like Soren," Ilyana suggested. "When he left on the journey with Ike, he looked barely any older than he had when we first met..."

"That's true," Zihark agreed. "Well, surely you would have noticed a brand by now... perhaps when you were washing yourself..." he added with a mischievous smirk.

Ilyana blushed deeply. "Zihark! You pervert!"

"I was joking," Zihark said, laughing. "Besides, shouldn't you expect me to make remarks like that by now? You remember how many times I've commented on your beautiful figure, right?"

"Actually... I don't..." Ilyana muttered.

"Oh, Ilyana... what am I going to do with you?" He grinned, picking her up and gently placing her on the bed. "We get to snuggle tonight, alright?"

"S-snuggle!?" This shocked Ilyana; she knew he liked her, but she hadn't been expecting this! "B-but, Zihark... y-you... don't even know if I..."

Zihark smiled knowingly. "Oh, of course I do. You've loved me ever since the first time I fed you, have you not?"

"Um... y-yes..." Ilyana was blushing, but on the inside, her heart was bursting with joy. Her love had finally been accepted by him... she was so incredibly happy. "Z-Zihark... I... I love you so much... so... much..."

"Yes, Ilyana, you don't have to say it twice," Zihark said with a soft laugh. "Ilyana... I love you too."

He laid beside her on the bed, drawing her into a comfortable embrace. She closed her eyes in bliss; his body was so warm! She allowed a soft moan to escape her lips as she snuggled close to him. This satisfied her crazy hunger more than the finest, richest food could...

"Oh, Zihark... oh, Zihark!" Ilyana exclaimed. "You... you feel so wonderful... oh..."

"You sure seem happy," Zihark commented, smiling. "A little... _too_ happy, I'd say..."

A blush quickly went across Ilyana's face. "Zihark!!"

"Wow, you're not good at discerning jokes," Zihark laughed. "Don't worry, Ilyana. You can rest safe in my embrace."

He leaned down, drawing her head up to meet his eyes. "Ilyana, you want to know something?"

"Yes, Zihark?" she asked, curious.

"I want to kiss you," he said. "You know how hungry you always are? Well, I'm feeling that same hunger... this time, for you."

"Oh..." Ilyana blushed yet again, but closed her eyes and accepted his kiss. As soon as his lips met hers, she felt a wonderful warmth growing in her heart. She kissed back, hunger overtaking her as she pressed on past his lips into his mouth. She found it quite surprising when he let her dominate.

As she broke away from him, she asked, "Zihark... why do you let me...?"

"In spite of external appearances, I'm still a very submissive guy," Zihark replied simply. "And besides, I'd love for you to dominate me."

This time it was Ilyana's turn to make a remark. "I wonder what that will mean when we marry?" She grinned, giggling mischievously.

"Thinking ahead, are we?" Zihark smirked. "Don't worry. We won't have to wait until we get married."

"Oh... Zihark!" She blushed deeply, both joyous and afraid. "You... you really... will...? Oh, Zihark!"

"Not right now, Ilyana," Zihark said quietly. "Let's save it for another time. We want to make our first night special, don't we? I know your birthday's coming up soon... how about then?"

"Oooh..." Ilyana nodded, excited. "Yes, Zihark... on my birthday... will do just fine..."

Zihark smiled. "Thank you, Ilyana." He moved in to kiss her again, once again letting her dominate.

This kiss was longer than the last. Ilyana couldn't resist his taste, and simply kissed him furiously, wrapping her arms around him and drawing him as close to her as she could. She decided she wanted to be dominated, though... she already knew that this would be a problem, so she simply let him take over. He noticed this, and broke off the kiss.

"Why do you submit so easily, my dear?"

Ilyana giggled. "You know how submissive I am, don't you?"

"Almost as submissive as me?" Zihark laughed softly. "Alright, in that case... I understand. I guess we'll just have to... well, you know... fight for dominance?" He smirked, tracing his fingers across her cheek.

"That is the one thing I'll fight you on, Zihark," Ilyana said. "Mm... just kiss me again, you fool."

"As you wish, my love." He quickly captured her lips once again, letting her experience his passion full-force. Deep inside, Zihark could remember the sweet laugh of his old girlfriend. She'd probably be laughing right now if she knew he was in love with a beorc.

**ab****ba**

Author's Note: A couple of interesting notes I'd like to make. I've always envisioned Zihark as being a little perverted, even though he makes no off-color comments of the sort in either game. Maybe it's just the fact that he flirts with the girls. >:3 And the submissiveness thing came completely out of the blue... I don't even know why, but for some reason I think Zihark would willingly submit to Ilyana. He likes to please his girl. :P

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the fic! Please review!


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